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6.2 Western Cape The Western Cape Province includes four coastal development regions and contains 56% of gazetted boat-based whale watching areas and sub-areas in the country (Figure 6.2). The province also boasts the highest level of subscription to the boat-based whale watching permit system with 73% of active permits in the country occurring here, equating to 57% of those available in the province. The main biological attraction is the Southern Right Whale and various dolphin species which occur in the area, including the endemic Heaviside’s Dolphin found only on the West Coast (Stuart & Stuart, 1988). This province, along with parts of the Eastern Cape, is also well known for significant aggregations of many marine organisms including the Cape Fur Seal (Arctocephalis pusillus), African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus), and other seabirds. The region is also well known for the presence of Great White Sharks which offer the opportunity for cage-diving in many areas where whales are viewed. This range of attractions, along with a generally well-marketed and developed tourism industry, has helped to make some regions in the province the most popular and well-subscribed boat-based whale watching areas in South Africa. #S Towns Provincial boundaries BBWW Areas Closed area Permitted area 1 #S Lambert's Bay 2 St Helena Bay #S #S Veldrift Saldanha Bay #S 3 #S Yzerfontein 4 Cape Town #S #S #S Gordon's Bay Simonstown Hawston #S #S Hermanus 6 #S Kleinbaai 5 7 10 8 #S Arniston #S Struisbaai 11 Mossel Bay #S 12 Plettenberg Bay #S #S Knysna 13 14 Figure 6.2. Map of Western Cape Province showing towns and Areas mentioned in text. Area 9 is a “roving” permit based on alternating use of areas 7 and 8 and is thus not shown on the map. 35
6.2.1 West Coast (Areas 1-3; Permits: 1 of 3) The West Coast region is well known for primary production linked to fisheries, though this has suffered in recent times and has led to investigations of alternate industries including tourism (DEAT, 1999). The region is characterised by a low income, with the majority of wealth centred around developed areas linked to active harbours and ports such as Saldanha and Langebaan (DEAT 1999). Tourism is based mainly on the well-known flower season during August and activities along the coast such as fishing and boating. Permitted activity The West Coast is the only region in the Western Cape in which not all potential permits have been taken up. There has never been a permit holder in Area 1, although at least one application has been made in the past. Areas 2 and 3 were previously occupied by two permit holders, but these permits were revoked in 1999 and 2003, in part due to their failure to supply logbook data to MCM. Promotional material for both of the past permit holders is still highly visible and tour offices contacted referred researchers to these operators. One of the previous permit holders did admit being active in boat-based tourism but claimed whales were no longer his main focus, attributing their importance to him as “less than 1%”. Meanwhile, the permit for Area 3 has recently been re-issued (at the end of 2004), this time to the Veldrift Community Forum, and is unusual in that it forms part of a poverty relief program, initiated and partly funded via MCM. The permit holder is now considering initiating an application for the permit linked to Area 2, subject to the performance and perceived success of the operation. Non-permitted activity In addition to the current permit holder, two to three non-permitted operators appear to be active and advertising boat-based whale watching as an element of their trips in Areas 1 and 3. At the time of their interviews, one of the active operators had been in operation for at least 10 years while the second had only begun operating in October 2004, and may represent a temporary operator. A third operator, well known in the region for the past 8 years as the preferred whale watching service provider to a number of tourist operators and accommodation establishments, claims to have ceased operations in 2003 in order to focus on other business interests. In addition to these some fishing charters offer occasional pleasure trips to view whales and are apparently active on an opportunistic basis during the whale watching season in Areas 2 and 3. Due to the apparent difficulties of operating in the region, new operators such as these reportedly tend to find whale watching unviable. All but one of the non-permitted operators interviewed indicated that they considered boat-based whale watching as an incidental contribution to their overall income. Nevertheless, all operators admitted or were seen to market the presence of whales on their tours to varying degrees. It is likely that whales serve some use in attracting potential clients but these trips do not guarantee or appear to see whales as a specific aim of their trip. Claims by some operators that they were currently inactive were difficult to assess as interviews were conducted out of season, yet whales and whale watching were clearly visible in marketing material and poster boards still in use, particularly in Area 2. The majority of active whale watching in this region is undertaken by non-permitted operators and is facilitated by a lack of policing by any official bodies in large parts of the area. Exceptions to these were Langebaan (Area 2) and Yzerfontein (Area 3), where MCM fisheries inspectors were claimed to occasionally play a deterring role, but the extent of this appears minimal. In Area 1, the most active policing elements were claimed to be the non-permitted operators themselves, particularly those who had been active for some time. Similarly, reports suggest that the ex-permit holder for Area 2 was the most visual policing element but subsequent follow ups appeared minimal. This was supported in statements by other stakeholders in the local tourism industry, including unpermitted operators. These operators also demonstrated superior knowledge of legislation and restrictions around the viewing of whales from boats compared to newer operators. The extent of their own compliance with these rules was however unclear. The extent of policing and actual knowledge of restrictions thus appeared linked to the level and duration of activity and dependence on boat-based whale watching. The two currently active operators expressed no interest in applying for permits. Reasons included the threat of bureaucracy and unnecessary controls, including potentially restrictive BEE requirements. One non-permitted operator, under the impression that he could approach whales to within 100m, felt that it was not worth getting a permit. 36
Page 3: BOAT-BASED WHALE WATCHING IN SOUTH
Page 6 and 7: owners, who felt that a smaller, fa
Page 8 and 9: TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION..
Page 10 and 11: 1. INTRODUCTION The whale watching
Page 12 and 13: the main whale watching season. All
Page 14 and 15: 3. WHALE WATCHING: AN INTERNATIONAL
Page 16 and 17: location. Most cetaceans spend the
Page 18 and 19: 3.2 South Africa in perspective Boa
Page 20 and 21: Table 3.3 excludes countries where
Page 22 and 23: west coast up to February or March
Page 24 and 25: The designated areas also include a
Page 26 and 27: 5. PERMIT-HOLDER CHARACTERISTICS, S
Page 28 and 29: The majority of permitted operators
Page 30 and 31: Two very large boats excluded, a ty
Page 32 and 33: November. This is probably due to a
Page 34 and 35: holder, with a total of just over 3
Page 36 and 37: Based on rack rates and the estimat
Page 38 and 39: 5.12 What determines success Based
Page 40 and 41: impact along the Garden Route, anot
Page 42 and 43: 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20
Page 46 and 47: Equipment and infrastructure The fu
Page 48 and 49: around 30 to 35 passengers were per
Page 50 and 51: advertising material which offered
Page 52 and 53: generally variable in their length,
Page 54 and 55: Non-permitted activity One dedicate
Page 56 and 57: Equipment, trip characteristics and
Page 58 and 59: 6.4 KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal cur
Page 60 and 61: visitors can be accommodated before
Page 62 and 63: Run on its way past Durban. Trips w
Page 64 and 65: Operators in Area 25 also offered d
Page 66 and 67: 6.5 Summary of legal and illegal ac
Page 68 and 69: 7. FUTURE POTENTIAL OF THE INDUSTRY
Page 70 and 71: Overall demand is heavily influence
Page 72 and 73: The most important enabling criteri
Page 74 and 75: The Cape Metro area is a major tour
Page 76 and 77: focused on harbour trips and until
Page 78 and 79: Wetland Park, Pondoland, the Greate
Page 80 and 81: 8.3 The permit system, conditions a
Page 82 and 83: Monitoring will also be vital for e
Page 84 and 85: 15. Data collected by operators and
Page 86 and 87: Woods-Ballard, A.J., Parsons, E.C.M
Page 88 and 89: 11. APPENDIX 2. SUMMARY OF COMMERCI
Page 90 and 91: used for whale watching must be acc
Page 92 and 93: Both the National and state governm
Page 94 and 95:
effort to be controlled through res
Page 96 and 97:
not is broached several times each
Page 98 and 99:
11.5 South America 11.5.1 Ecuador T
Page 100 and 101:
The Dominican Republic has strict c
Page 102 and 103:
12. APPENDIX 3: NOTIFICATION OF PER
Page 104 and 105:
4. Applicants must be willing to si
Page 106 and 107:
SIMONSTOWN AREA Cape Point Lighthou
Page 108 and 109:
PLETTENBERG BAY AREA The Western Bo
Page 110 and 111:
(iii) the extent to which the appli
Page 112 and 113:
Table I. Rating of the whale resour
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